Advanced ceramics are also called precision ceramics. With the continuous innovation in the field of terminal applications, the main downstream products of polystyrene (PS) are gradually being replaced, and may disappear in the future. This prompted some regional producers to completely withdraw from the business, and the PS industry is gradually being stifled.
A resin manufacturer in Taiwan, China believes: "The market lacks new areas that require a large amount of PS, so the demand for PS will gradually decline, and this is not only caused by the global economic crisis."
In the production of new game consoles, mobile phones and MP3 players, polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), and polymethyl methacrylate have been widely used to replace PS. The application of PS is limited to low-end products, such as food packaging, toys, hangers, containers and certain consumer electronic products. However, even in these areas, PS may gradually be replaced by cheaper raw materials such as polypropylene.
As an important market for PS, China's demand has been continuously declining since 2003. In 2003, the demand had exceeded 2.6 million tons, and in 2002, it had dropped to 2.3 million tons. Japan's PS market demand has also fallen sharply, especially in the fields of electronics and industrial applications. The production bases of major Japanese PS customers are gradually shifting overseas, which has made it Boron Nitride Ceramic Shaft impossible for Japan's domestic PS demand to recover.
Japan's original four PS manufacturers have a combined production capacity of 1.1 million tons per year, accounting for approximately 70% of their domestic market. Japan Polystyrene Corporation, a joint venture between Mitsui Chemicals and Sumitomo Chemical, recently announced that it will withdraw from the PS business. By then, there will only be three companies engaged in the PS business in Japan. Mitsui Chemicals and Sumitomo Chemical said that the company has decided to withdraw from the PS business because the business is in a very difficult situation and it is impossible to obtain stable income from medium and long-term considerations. A manufacturer said that Japanese PS demand is expected to fall by 6.5% to 7.0% to about 700,000 tons. The withdrawal of Japanese polystyrene companies will make the supply and demand situation more balanced.
At the same time, Mitsubishi Chemical will also withdraw from Polystyrene Japan, a joint venture with Asahi Kasei Chemicals and Idemitsu Kosan. The company's production capacity is approximately 445,000 tons/year, ranking first among the four Japanese manufacturers. Despite weak demand, Dainippon Ink and Chemicals (DIC) and Toyo Styrene, a joint venture between Nippon Steel, Denka and Daicel, will continue to produce PS.
In addition, the company that abandoned the PS business is the German chemical giant BASF, which announced the sale of various styrene plants, including PS plants, as early as July 2007. Idemitsu PS Boron Nitride Ceramic Shaft Malaysia also stopped its production of 30,000 tons/year of general-purpose polystyrene in September 2008. The Dow Chemical Company has shut down its 120,000-ton/year PS plant in eastern China indefinitely.
Is there any market for precision ceramics?
2020 12/14